Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge

Location:

Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge is situated in the western section of Madikwe Game Reserve, just 3 and a half hour’s drive from Johannesburg on the N4 and only 20km from Gaberone. The lodge is accessible from the Wonderboom Gate.

About the Lodge:

This four star unfenced lodge is perched on the Tweedepoort Ridge with stunning views overlooking the plains and Inselbergs below.

The rustic feel and atmosphere of the lodge is great and we found it to be very relaxing and comfortable. The lodge walls are adorned with old photos from the local community... 

pictures of the local community hang on the walls

We were warmly welcomed by Godfrey, Tshepo and the klip springer family.

The Klip springers waiting to greet the guests

A wooden bridge gives you access over a small ravine to the main lodge, which is spectacularly located on two tiers of the ridge.

The wooden bridge leading to the Lodge

After our welcome drinks they showed us round the lodge.

Just off from reception is a small seating area with a library.....

the reception seating area

and down some more stairs is a larger lounge where the canvas sides are rolled up to give you a feeling of openness and being at one with nature. 

A lounge with a view

The second level leads to the main dining area and wooden viewing deck…

The Big 5 on the pole leading up to the dining area

what a view from this point. The large open deck allows you to see what is coming over the hills while you enjoy your meals.

an early morning coffee on the deck

Up a few more steps and you will find one of the two bomas, this is the smaller boma that caters for smaller groups....

Dinner in the small boma

and then up a few more steps where you will find the swimming pool with a fantastic view over the veld. The second boma is behind the lodge and close to chalet #2.

the moon reflection in the pool

Food & Drink:

The food at Buffalo Ridge is 5-star!! Every meal was delicious, well presented and served with a smile! 

Stuffed chicken breast with savory rice and veggies

Grilled Kingklip with mash and veggies

Josephine did a superb job; we had tomato and olive phyllo pastry tart, rack of lamb with couscous and vegetables then a delicious desert of cream caramel.

delicious dessert in a cup

Most of our meals were either in the dining area or in the smaller boma. 

Lunch in the covered dining area

Each night the dinner is served at a different venue but the boma tends to be the most popular with guests.

Boma dinner at Buffalo Ridge Lodge

Breakfast was just as good and I must say we loved their home made muesli – one of the best we have tasted! A hot breakfast of eggs, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, tomato, toast, tea and coffee can also be ordered.

Breakfast with a view

Accommodation at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge:

our chalet at sunrise

When we arrived we were welcomed by a family of klipspringer who even drank from our water overflow outside our chalet.

The klipspringer pair out side our chalet

A gravel pathway leads away from the main lodge building to 8 uniquely designed and decorated thatch chalets....

The pathway leading to our chalet

Our mascot was always there to greet us

Each has an open bedroom with either twin or king-size beds - air-conditioning, ceiling fan, tea and coffee station and dressing table.

Inside view of one of the chalet bedrooms

the sliding doors lead from both the bedroom and shower onto a large viewing deck, offering a very private and luxurious experience with some great views. 

the view from our bed at chalet number 3

the en suite bathrooms with shower, all with a view!

inside view of the bathroom

a shower with a view

The chalets are widely spread for total privacy…. number 8 is a fair walk from the main building but has a super view.

The view from our chalet

Activities:

The baboons often come into the lodge for a visit, they like to sit in the rafters and watch the guests.

Baboon in the rafters at the Lodge

The Lodge has a small waterhole, you can see it from the wooden deck off the dining area,  but sadly there was not much water in it when we were there so not many animals came down to drink just the klipspringers. 

The waterhole with klip springers

You can also relax round the swimming pool or on your chalet deck.

The views round the lodge are magnificent....

The view from the pool deck

There are loads of interesting things to photograph round the lodge.....

Dung beetle photographed at the lodge

Beetle on flower taken at Buffalo Ridge Lodge

Stars, this image was taken from the boma at Buffalo Ridge Lodge

There are two game drives per day, a morning and afternoon/evening drive in open game-viewing vehicles....

Buffalo Ridge Game viewing vehicle

Out on game drive

with a coffee break in the morning and sun downers in the bush for the afternoon drive.

Drink stop while on game drive

Sundowner stop at Nick's view

Sightings:

Jen photographing the lion family

We had some nice sightings of the Big-5, but sadly no great photographs of the 2 leopards as these guys seem to be camera shy. 

One off our two Leopard sightings while on game drive.

Giraffe walking on the plans

Cheetahs grooming time

lions cubs playing

Wild dog or painted wolf

Hyena in a pipe, image taken on a night drive

Lioness hugging the tree before she climbed it

We also got some stunning landscapes while on our drives...

Sunrise at Nkwe Pan

Lioness and cubs this image was taken while out on a game drive

Lioness and cub eating on a kill image taken while on game drive

Elephant at Nkwe Pan Image taken on game drive

Buffalos walking in front of our vehicle

The lodge is unfenced so we had Leopard spoor all the way down our path to our chalet, bumped into a buffalo bull on our way back from dinner and had a spotted hyena dashed across our path the one morning! 

You can see more images on our2024 Buffalo Ridge Trip Report page.

beautiful male lion

Thank you to the Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge team for 5-star food and great service!

For more information or to make your reservation at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge please visit their website

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